Competition winner receives tractor
Farmers Guide and Case IH ‘Win a Tractor’
competition winners the Morris family of
Clun, Shropshire has taken delivery of the
Case IH Maxxum 135MC. The tractor joins
the machinery fleet on the family’s mixed
farm for six months.
Pictured with the tractor are (l-r) Neil
Morris, Case IH area sales manager
Andrew Davies, Graham Morris, Brian
(Wilf) Morris and local Case IH main
dealer Western Farm Machinery director,
Ian Mills. Missing from the picture is Vic
Morris, who will also be using the new
tractor.

delighted to have the opportunity to
work with the Morris family providing
support and advice when needed, and
believe they will be impressed with the
whole package we offer together with
Case IH.”

Delighted by win

The Morris family of Clun, Shropshire is enjoying six months’ free use of a superb Case IH Maxxum
135 MC tractor and loader, courtesy of the recent Farmers Guide and Case IH ‘Win a tractor’
competition. David Williams was there for the handover.
Trading as SJC Morris & Sons, the
family has farmed at Whitcott Evan
Farm, Clun since 1939, when 100ha
(242 acres) was purchased. Now the
farmed area is approximately 400ha
(1,000 acres), on five sites – three
owned and two rented, most of which
is grassland. Much of the farmed land is
on the steep slopes of the Clun Valley,
although flat uplands at 1,300ft are
used for some arable crops.
The main enterprises include a 180head suckler herd composed mainly of
Limousin as well as some British Blue,
with calves sold as stores mainly at
Bishops Castle and Knighton markets
at 10–14 months. There is also a large
sheep flock, mainly Suffolk cross and
some mules.
The Morris family breeds its own
cattle and sheep replacements as far as
possible, but will also buy in breeding
ewes at the local markets and bulls
for new bloodlines. Store lambs are
also bought in when the market is
favourable.
Most grass is improved with some
permanent pasture on steep slopes
but there is also some improved
grassland within the crop rotation
providing young leys for forage. Arable

Graham Morris is pictured with some of
the suckler cows and calves.

cropping accounts for approximately
80ha (200 acres) and is almost all
to provide feed and straw for the
livestock. “All the manure is applied to
the arable and harvest land while a lot
of straw is bought in.” explained Neil
Morris, who is the third generation
of the Morris family involved on the
farm. “It’s valuable to us and we plaster
our land in as much muck as possible,
especially in a dry year, to maintain soil
condition and fertility.”
The crop rotation is typically grass
followed by wheat or winter barley,
then stubble turnips on winter barley
land followed by spring barley then
winter oats. The stubble turnips
provide winter grazing, supplemented
later by corn fed in hoppers.
Cattle are housed from early
November and let out for field grazing
in May, after TB testing. Sheep are
scanned in December and early
January after which twin and triplet
ewes are housed.
One of the five sites has no
buildings and is mainly used for arable
cropping, receiving a lot of manure
but also used occasionally for sheep
grazing when grass is in the rotation.

Useful addition to fleet
The farm’s machinery fleet includes
four tractors, of three different brands
and two telescopic handlers. Two
Claas tractors perform most arable
tasks, with 150 and 180hp and there
is a smaller 100hp Valtra and a 110hp
Deutz-Fahr used for loader work. Both
handlers are Manitou.
The loan tractor is the latest
Maxxum 135MC with a 4-cyl, 135hp
(rated), 169hp (max) engine, 17x16

50kph semi-powershift transmission
equipped with a factory-fitted LRZ120
2.3t 4.1m self-levelling loader.
“We have never had a Case IH
tractor before,” explained Graham.
“We have heard good things about
them and this will be an excellent
opportunity for us to try the brand and
get to know our local dealer.
“The Maxxum 135 is an ideal size
for us, especially from this time of the
year on, and we will make the most
of its capabilities during our busiest
periods. It will easily handle most of
the attachments currently used on the
Manitous, which are too big for our
own loader tractor. During autumn
we feed the cows out in the fields,
carting bales each day and the 50kph
transmission will be superb for that. We
would far rather use a tractor than a
telescopic handler where we can away
from the yard as it is faster on the road
and does less ground damage when
conditions are wet.”

The competition required entrants
to answer questions about the
tractor specification and complete a
tiebreaker. More than 150 entries were
received from farms across the UK from
Cornwall to the Orkney Isles and East
Anglia to Wales.
“When we saw the competition
advertised in Farmers Guide, we were
tempted by the prize, but certainly
didn’t expect to win,” said Graham.
“We have never won anything like
this before and were surprised when
we received a call from the magazine
with the good news. It’s a great prize
and will be a real asset on our farm this
year. Since the tractor was delivered,
we have been finding out about its
features and inspecting the build
quality. Everything looks great; the
cab is comfortable and quiet, and we
don’t think it will take long for us to
get used to the Multicontroller armrest
and make the most of the tractor’s
capabilities.”
■

Dealer support
Local main dealer Western Farm
Services Ltd will look after the tractor.
Based in Knighton, Powys, mid-Wales,
the business operates from one
depot, representing Case IH, McHale
and Kverneland along with other
brands. “I believe it will be ideal for
this farm,” said director Ian Mills. “The
Maxxum series is very versatile, great
for mixed farms with the power and
size to carry out arable tasks but with
the manoeuvrability to perform well
in the yard. We have supplied many
similar tractors to similar users across
our trading area and know they are
highly regarded by operators. We are

Graham said the 50kph maximum speed
will be a benefit with stock and arable
cropping on land in five separate blocks,
up to seven miles distant from the main
base.